Home Alone, with Bicycle
In the weeks without me, the Co-Habitant has not been idle: He has transformed his already handsome Motobecane Super Mirage into a mean, lean, sport-touring machine... and then some. For your entertainment, I post his mobile phone pictures of Myles.
Can you spot some of the, erm... unusual updates?
First, there is the bell mounted on the top tube. Yes, the top tube. An eccentric choice, but I think it looks distinguished!
Then there is the computer on the handlebars. The juxtaposition of the computer and the twine makes me giggle. In return, he threatens to put one on his Pashley as well.
And, Oh God, what's this? He installed clipless pedals (SPD 520) and bought clipless cycling shoes to go with them. Madness!
Of course, you've probably noticed these. Yes, they are twin, fully twined water flasks - with sports sprouts, or whatever those things are called. Spectacular, no?
And finally, behold the pump under the top tube. Myles is officially ready for anything - though I don't know about those clipless pedals. The Co-Habitant insists that he likes them, and I guess I should accept that. Maybe with time, he will twine them...
Can you spot some of the, erm... unusual updates?First, there is the bell mounted on the top tube. Yes, the top tube. An eccentric choice, but I think it looks distinguished!Then there is the computer on the handlebars. The juxtaposition of the computer and the twine makes me giggle. In return, he threatens to put one on his Pashley as well.And, Oh God, what's this? He installed clipless pedals (SPD 520) and bought clipless cycling shoes to go with them. Madness!Of course, you've probably noticed these. Yes, they are twin, fully twined water flasks - with sports sprouts, or whatever those things are called. Spectacular, no?And finally, behold the pump under the top tube. Myles is officially ready for anything - though I don't know about those clipless pedals. The Co-Habitant insists that he likes them, and I guess I should accept that. Maybe with time, he will twine them...
...not before I twine the kickstand.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the Pashley already _has_ a computer. It's neatly tucked away at the riser-stem. (That's why you never noticed it. It's a clandestine installation, with help from the Stratford-upon-Avon MI-# division...)
don't forget to twine the pump and headlight...
ReplyDeletejust keep a close eye on that co-habitant, velouria... your DL1s just might be next... :-o
Oh I installed spd clipless on my Raleigh Wisp mixte. They are awesome...scary but awesome. Although falling over is a huge inevitability and painful.
ReplyDeleteThese water bottles are gorgeous! That's something I miss on Paula, might have to install something the like... The bike computer doesn't really fit, but I suppose a retro version doesn't exist ;-).
ReplyDeleteWoolen Typist - You see, it's the "falling over" and the "awesome" in the same sentence that doesn't compute! I want the kind of awesome that doesn't cause me to fall : )
ReplyDeleteMDI - I don't know what to say!...
the airpump looks nice, what kind/brand is it?
ReplyDeletefalling over with the clipless is definitely inevitable... but the suckiness of that is totally made up for by the awesomeness of riding clipless! it's dubious, I know, but still true...!
I can see how clipless could be good. My feet slide and I pedal with the middle of my foot and have to slide my foot back into a better position to gain power. Of course if I could make clipless danskos then I'd be all good. the other day I wore sneakers ( granted white) fromt he gym with my skirt b/c I didn't have room for shoes on the bike and I biked all the way home just to put on real shoes before finishing errands. A mile out of my way b/c I could not STAND the sneakers on my feet with real clothes. shudder. It was like an 80's commuting woman's throwback.
ReplyDeleteI think the bike is kinda steampunk with its twine and modern additions...Here is the big question- will MDI wear bright neon yellow maillots
Despite the clipless pedals, twined or otherwise, Myles is a very handsome bicycle!
ReplyDeleteI suppose one could take a fall in an awe-inspiring way? It would surly inspire me to go back to platform pedals. :)
They make sandals for clipless pedals, but my tan lines are odd enough already. One suggestion. Pinstripe the lights in gold paint to add that last touch of elegance.
ReplyDeleteLOVE!!! I especially like the waterbottles. I'm all about "decorating" my ss waterbottles and recently came up with an quick remedy to the rattle issue by using one of my kid's old babylegs (it's on my blog.) Once you get used to riding clipped in, it's hard to ride not clipped in, for me anyway.
ReplyDeleteI have clipless on my roadbike, power grips on my commuter and half clips on my mixtes.
I just fit (Klean Kanteen's) new 16-ounce wide-mouthed insulated stainless steel water bottles on my new bike. They fit perfectly snug in Nitto Tour bottle cages-no rattles and basically are thermoses for hot and cold beverages. Available also in 12 and 20 ounce. The combination of wide-mouth, BPA-free, double-wall insulated, and stainless with no rattles is a neat trick.
ReplyDeletehaha! "sports sprouts!" fun times.
ReplyDeleteI've fallen with toe clips/straps/deep cleats when I rolled a tubular tire. I've never fallen with clipless. If you start to fall, you just put your foot down. It isn't intuitive that it should work that way, but it does; at least after a short gettin' used to 'em spell.
ReplyDeleteThe pump looks like a Topeak Master Blaster.
The pump is a Topeak, but not sure of the model.
ReplyDeleteHayley and Velouria: The pump is the Topeak Master Blaster frame fit pump. I know, because it's the pump I use.
ReplyDeleteClipless pedals? A bell on the top tube?
ReplyDeleteOh, the things men will do when you leave them by themselves! ;-)
I must say, the bell on the toptube looks cool, though I would never do that to my Mercians.
Be glad he didn't twine the cats!
ReplyDeleteTeasing aside, the waterbottles are a lovely mix of stainless efficiency and handmade charm.
Although I consider myself a fairly fearless cyclist, I just don't do clipless pedals anymore. I fell hard once unclipping, right in front of a giant pickup which was terrifying, and my hip hurt for months after.Also I just never felt comfortable with the position they forced my feet into. I'll stick with old school toeclips thanks
The SPD clipless detach on falls similar to ski bindings, so in that sense they are safer than clips w/ straps.
ReplyDeleteI've fallen with clips when I "forgot" to unclip in time. It's been told to me that people often spill right in their driveway after a ride. Happened to me. With clipless, it's a lot quicker to unclip--it's a very positive on/off feeling--and one could first stop a bike, then unclip and step down all before the bike topples over.
As far as preventing a fall while in motion, I have no idea why people think that putting a foot down would help. Maybe at 2 miles per hour. First of all, it's not going to do anything at speed, and the way I have the saddle adjusted the ground is just too far away. I think it's best to stay on the pedals and keep your hands on the bars, this way maybe you can prevent a fall. But, I've been bounced off a bike by rough terrain and clipless pedals don't really help a whole lot here. They open up and off you go. That's my experience anyway.
But, yeah, falling at 0 mph is very likely when you first start out.
I have been trying my best to ride the Waja trackbike in Vienna with toe clips, but just couldn't do it. Best I could do was 1 block before total panic and nearly falling. I felt safer riding it with the pedals upside down, despite the lack of brakes. The half-clips I bought for my Motobecane mixte were not a success either (anybody want them?).
ReplyDeleteSeveral people now - including professional cyclists - have told me that toe clips are far more difficult and dangerous than clipless, for precisely the reasons mentioned by MDI and kfg. Intuitively, I find that hard to believe, but I'd like to try it and experience the difference for myself.
Also:
ReplyDeleteSome people ride toe clips so loose that the foot can just come out any which way you pull except forward. I am not sure how to "compare" that to clipless because I've never ridden that way. It seems "safe" but possibly ineffective in terms of foot retention. I've tried half-clips once, which sort of approximate the "loose toe-clip" setup, but didn't like it. Nothing felt as good/safe/easy as clipless does. So, either metal-spikey-rat-cage pedals or clipless for me. Unfortunately I all but have to keep the rubber platforms on my DL1/Pashley for authenticity's sake.
If you can identify the make and model of a frame pump from a low res long shot; you might be a bike geek.
ReplyDelete@Cycler - "Be glad he didn't twine the cats!"
Cats are independent creatures and are perfectly happy twining themselves. Go ask Alice.
Myles is beautiful and, yet again, I find myself lusting after your household's bicycle collection. Love the bell on the top-tube. Clipless and computerised, hmmmm . . . you may need to watch the Co-Habitant closely. There could be carbon-fibre DNA in there somewhere :)
ReplyDeleteMyles looks awesome, such an attractive bike! I especially love the bell on the top tube, something about it is just so wonderful. Well played. S.
ReplyDeleteIf the enhancements were made with epic rides in mind then it works IMO. Clipless pedals, a computer, and other accoutrements (as long as not too much weight is added) will add to a postive experience for a long day in the saddle. As far as the bell on the top tube, well, I dunno.
ReplyDeleteYa' know, a person could just bind some pedal spindles to their feet with twine, and when they wanted to go for a ride they could just...never mind.
ReplyDeletePut me in the camp of those who believe clipless is less likely(let's not start using word's like "safer", You want safe, take the bus) to help you fall. If the straps are BDSM tight like they need to be for clips to really do their job, you gotta reach down to get out unless you generate enough adreneline to rip them in two... When I am about to come undone doing something stupid in my SPDs I seem to magically find myself with my feet free and unencumbered by the pedals. I usually go ahead and stick one of them into the spokes at that point but that's a differant thing alltogether.
HOWEVER, no clipless pedal will ever look as butch as a Campy Super Record with scuffed black cages, ever so slightly rusty Cinelli toeclips and dual Alfredo Binda straps... The cycling equivelent of your old black bullhide boots you had made in Nuevo Laredo when you graduated from high school.
Spindizzy
By the way, that bike looks great...
ReplyDeleteSpindizzy
I like steel frames with their thin tubes. Maybe one day my road bike will have cro-mo double butted tubing for a really "light frame look." But I am in no danger of going carbon fibre. I've spent I don't know how much replacing carbon ski poles--and they only sell them in pairs--those bandits. I should've kept all my broken half-pairs, duh. And I have a talent for finding meaty potholes. My front wheel has a serious hop from one. In a way, I'm glad the tubing is hi-ten on this bike.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the compliments on Myles - I am definitely jealous of the Co-Habitant's bike. If for any reason I should have occasion to get yet another bike (*cough* trackbike! *cough*), I think I want it to be silver.
ReplyDeleteSaint Bif - I like your picture. And yes, he has definitely been going on "epic rides" with some new male bike-friends. Too crazy for me, but I am glad he is enjoying it.
Spindizzy - Please, please don't give him ideas : )
The bike looks terrific.
ReplyDeleteI have ridden maybe 12k miles with the Shimano SPD pedals over the past couple years and have never had trouble getting in or out of them. Oh, wait. last summer after buying a new mountain bike I had the pedals set too tight and fell over on my first ride. Fortunately it was in nice soft grass. A couple turns of the allen wrench and I was good to go.
@spindizzy - Scuffed? I had bevels ground into the dust caps. Might still have the spindles, clips and straps in a box somewhere.
ReplyDelete". . .your old black bullhide boots you had made in Nuevo Laredo . . ."
Now THAT'S where I got it wrong. I got hepatitis in Laredo avoiding high school entirely. Can I trade in my liver damage for those boots? I'll throw in a coupla used Binda straps, for you, me amigo. They're origeenahl, from de rooins.
The bike does look great, by the way.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteIf I saw that bike in real life, I'd definitely have to stop for a closer look and some photos :)
No one gets my boots or my Super Record pedals,I'm trying to figure out an outfit I can be buried in that incorporates them both...
ReplyDeleteLaredo is till a cool place, only now I'm not in danger of anything there worse than carbohydrate poisening...
Spindizzy
I'm loving the comments on this post!
ReplyDeleteCan you guys elaborate whether the twine on the water bottles is purely visually aesthetic or does it have any other purpose? I once read that people wrap their stainless steel bottles in wet burlap to keep them cool in the summer. I can vouch for the fact that scalding hot water on a hot ride does NOT quench your thirst!
Get some old school nail on cleats and ride across the bridge for matching saddle bags and Bandolier and you're set.
ReplyDeleteAs for the cool factor of Laredo, well, you can get used to just about anything I guess and there's no accounting for taste.
The twine wrapping has many functions in addition to aesthetics. Hardly anything else on the bike does as many things!
ReplyDeleteIt (1) provides a grippy surface to hold the slippery bottles, (2) prevents rattling in the cages, (3) ensures tight fit over bumpy roads, (4) protects the bottle from dents and scratches, and (5) keeps the sun rays from heating the metal. It also (6) almost completely hides the logos. :)
Water in the bottles after a multi-hour 40+ mile ride in 90-something F weather is barely warm, not hot at all. Granted, I re-filled both bottles about eight times over the course of the ride...
Myles looks wonderful! But I was wondering -- this is a fairly basic question, I think -- where did the Cohabitant find the rings to mount the bottle cages on to the bike with? Or did the cage come with the rings? I'd like to do the same to mount a water bottle cage on to my bike!
ReplyDeleteBike shops have rings by generic manufacturers for a few bucks a pair. If a set doesn't work (bad steel or bolts), try another one. Not all cages work well with these, ask a shop for details. You need tabs to catch the rings.
ReplyDeleteThe saddle is also Noteworthy. It is distressing to find, time and time again, that the much worn saddle is forsaken, over looked, and so rarely accorded the Respect It Ruchly Deserves.
ReplyDelete